Providing AV across a six-bedroomed mansion in Scotland

Considered to be one of Scotland’s finest homes, the Treetops mansion in Troon is surrounded by four acres of formal gardens and woodlands providing shelter and seclusion. Its current owner commissioned a renovation of this three-storey, 100-year-old residence shortly after purchasing it and appointed Lairds AV to help lead on the technological makeover.

The project included the construction of a new leisure wing consisting of a 40-foot heated indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, steam room, gym and shower room. The owner wanted to incorporate the latest smart home technology including distributing audio and visual to every corner of the six-bedroomed home. To help the owner easily enjoy the home’s multitude of entertainment options, simple and reliable control was needed in all areas.

For video distribution, Lairds utilised a Wyrestorm NetworkHD AV over IP system to deliver content to 14 4K displays, with sources including four Sky Q boxes, a 4K media server, a Blu-ray player, two Yamaha AV receivers, and a digital signage player that displays family photographs and custom artwork. RTI’s AD-16x audio matrix switch and AD-8x audio distribution system — in conjunction with three RTI CP-1650 16-channel Cool Power® amplifiers and a Sonance DSP 2-150 power amplifier — deliver audio to 19 zones equipped with a mixture of Sonance, M&K Sounds, and Amina Edge speakers and subwoofers. To meet the owner’s expectations for simple and reliable control, Lairds depended on the trusted solutions from RTI.

“There is a tier structure for control systems when it comes to performance and ease of use, and RTI is at the top in comparison to the more expensive solutions on the market,” said Mark Laird, director of Lairds AV. “We’ve been utilising the company’s products for some time in both our residential and commercial projects, and they’ve always provided a robust and reliable platform that can be completely customised to offer the most intuitive control experience possible. Our client required that level of performance, so relying on RTI in this installation was an easy call.”

The control system is powered by a combination of RTI’s XP-6s and XP-8v control processors and relies on two-way IP drivers, including RTI’s AD-16x and AD8x, for seamless integration with electronic systems. Four KX2 2.8-inch in-wall touchpanels and two KX7 7-inch touchpanels allow for the homeowner and guests to interact with the control system. To enjoy a movie or watch TV, they only need to tap on the desired display(s) and video source. If they want to change video sources at any time, it’s a simple as clicking on an icon.

The touchpanels provide access to all of the home’s music sources and offer playback control for individual or multiple zones. The same control experience is available on iOS devices running the RTiPanel app, such as the customised waterproof iPads located in the leisure wing.

Using RTI’s cloud-based RTiQ remote management system, Lairds provides remote maintenance of the system allowing them to monitor the status of all the home’s devices from anywhere in the world via a dashboard. Email and text notifications alert them if a failure occurs. They can then remotely trigger an action to restore the failed system or component.

“With so many displays and audio zones, Treetops could have easily turned into a mess of remotes and confusion without a powerful control system,” added Laird. “With RTI, our client has been thrilled with how simple everything is to operate, the rock-solid reliability, and the peace of mind that comes with remote management. And now they’re ready to pass this one-of-a-kind AV experience on to the next owner. The property is up for sale, and our client is sure to receive a high return on the investment they’ve made in the mansion’s technology.”